Poll: Majority of Catalans Want Independence from Spain

Almost 60 percent of Catalans support independence from Spain according to the latest poll, which also revealed that Catalans have no fear about their future as a sovereign European state.

The results of the new survey by the Omnibus Opinion Studies Centre have shown that out of 1,600 samples taken from the Catalan population, 87.6 percent would accept the outcome of the November 9 referendum, while 9.1 percent would not, RT reported.

In addition, 58.8 percent of Catalans strongly agree or somewhat agree that Catalonia should have its own state, while 31.9 percent answered that they are fairly opposed or totally opposed to living in an independent country.

The opinion poll released Monday comes after the Catalan parliament voted on Friday in favor of the new law, with 106 MPs supporting it and 28 voting against. The MPs hope it will bring Catalan President Artur Mas a step closer to the planned independence referendum on November 9.

The Spanish government called the Catalan vote illegal and said it will be taking the matter up at the Constitutional Court. The court has the power to suspend the vote after it hears the case on Tuesday.

With its own language and culture, Catalonia has sought a referendum on independence similar to the one held in Scotland on Thursday. The autonomous region has a population of 7.5 million and accounts for almost one-quarter of Spain’s GDP.